“If you drink too much pop, your teeth are going to fall out,” is exactly what your mom used to say when you asked if it was OK to have another can of root beer — which may or may not have been you’re fifth of the day. Sure, you were 12-years-old at the time and if it were up to you, your entire diet would have consisted of Domino’s, Doritos and anything that fizzes in your mouth, but it seems that mom always knew best.

Mom’s today have an even greater reason to keep their kids from sucking back pop — not only does it greatly increase your risk of getting cavities, new research is claiming it can have much more of a serious impact on your overall well-being. According to a new study from the University of Minnesota, people who drink more than two cans of regular pop a week double their chances of getting cancer of the pancreas, as opposed to those who drink no soda at all.

Researchers monitored the pop-consumption habits of some 60,000 people in Singapore who were 14 years of age or older, and the results were shocking. Those who were regular pop drinkers were found to be 87 percent more likely to develop the deadly disease, in comparison to those who were not.

In the 1980s, Canadian rocker Kim Mitchell dominated the airwaves, singing, ‘Might as well go for a soda, nobody hurts and nobody cries.” Kim Mitchell was lying to us all along.____________________________________________________

Orange Alert

You know the girl who always looks a little too tanned, though it’s the middle of February and she hasn’t been down south since hitting Daytona for Spring Break in 2007? It’s not even a tan really, more of an orange coating that’s vaguely similar to the colour of your old Rawlings baseball glove. Well, though she might look healthy and attractive, there’s a good chance she also addicted to the way fake and baking makes her feel, putting herself at serious risk at the same time.

That warm, relaxed feeling you experience while in a tanning bed — not to mention the extra pep in your step you enjoy once you get out — may be addictive. Some experts even crudely refer it to “tanorexia,” but it’s no joking matter. Tanning-bed use, especially by those under 30, has been linked to skin cancer.

A study initially conducted by Wake Forest University in 2006 revealed some damning evidence against tanning beds, but it has not helped curtail the tanning business one bit. Unfortunately, that’s not surprising when you consider researchers say the process of tanning is almost like getting high. When the sensation of UV rays hitting your skin coincides with the dream-like state a 15-minute tanning session can induce, it sends a rush of endorphins surging through your brain.

The Canadian Dermatology Association is currently lobbying the government and reaching out to the public with a multi-platform campaign to prohibit tanning-bed usage by anyone under the age of 18. If you’re still hell bent on being tanned, maybe it’s a good idea to step away from the tanning bed and go the spray-tan route instead.____________________________________________________

Global Warning

The next time a European friend or relative makes a crack about overweight, lazy North Americans, don’t just shrug your shoulders and meekly agree, tell the smug bastards that rest of the world is matching our prodigious laziness, especially when it comes to watching TV or surfing the Internet.

The World Health Organization’s Regina Guthold says most children around the globe aren’t getting enough exercise, regardless of the economic might of the country in which they live. “With regards to physical activity levels, we did not find much of a difference between kids in poor and rich countries,” Guthold told Reuters.

In a study of more than 70,000 kids aged 13 to 15 from 34 different nations, statistics showed that just 25 percent of boys and only 15 percent of girls were getting a sufficient amount of physical exercise. Moreover, nearly one third of the world’s children spend at least three hours a day watching TV or using the Internet. And if the kids even know about Twitter in Tanzania, I bet they’re following Justin Bieber, too.